Drivers

Oil and Fuel Prices Continue Recent Declines

The price of oil keeps edging toward going back below the $100 per barrel mark, bringing fuel prices along for the ride.

Crude lost 54 cents in trading in New York on Monday, settling at $102.33 per barrel, hitting near a three-month low. It’s also just over a dollar lower than where it closed a week ago.

Credit: DOE/EIA

Lower prices are being attributed to lessening tensions in the Middle East and concerns a federal government shutdown will slow the American economy and demand for oil and fuel.

Meantime, the average price of diesel fell for the third straight week, shedding three cents, and its biggest decline since April, according to a new U.S. Energy Department report. This puts the national average at $3.919 per gallon, 16 cents lower than the same time a year ago.

Prices fell in all parts of the country, with the largest seen in the West Coast region, dropping 3.6 cents over the past week, for an average of $4.075 per gallon. The area also has the highest average price of any region in the country.

The lowest average price is in the Gulf Coast states at $3.831 per gallon, a decline of 3.1 cents during the same time

The average cost of gasoline fell even more, losing 7 cents, registering $3.425 per gallon. It’s 37.9 cents lower than the same time a year ago.

Prices also fell in all parts of the country with the biggest drop being recorded in the Midwest, declining 10.8 cents, for an average of $3.348 per gallon.

Average prices range from a low of $3.176 in the Gulf Coast states, down 5.5 cents from last week, to a high of $3.802 in the West Coast region, 6.4 cents lower than a week ago.